Sydney, Apr 24 (ANI): The Australian media has criticised the lack of proper leadership in the team, saying that the appointment of wicket-keeper Brad Haddin as the vice-captain in the Ashes squad to be named today shows the unstable state of cricket in the country.

According to News.com.au, Haddin, who was sacked a year ago as his batting faded, is now suddenly seen as a central part of the solution for the back-to-back England series following Australia's devastating 4-0 series loss in India.

According to the report, the sudden retirements of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey has left Australia devoid of experience, adding that although a need of a potential vice-captain arose with former deputy Shane Watson's dismal Indian tour on and off the field, there were no obvious candidates in the current team.

Stating that the Australian way has always chosen the best XI squad and then picked the captain and vice-captain from the team in the past, the report warned that it may be dangerous if the team decided to go the reverse way and choose the leaders first.

According to the report, the selection of Haddin may pose a problem as even though he is experienced, he cannot be counted among the top six batsmen in the country, adding that experience should not harm the best-performing players.

The report mentioned the obvious need of the team having a performing player, saying that few players, who have been given the opportunity to be part of the succession planning plan in recent years, have taken it, including Watson.

The report further said that apart from Clarke, every batsmen in the team has a distinct possibility of being axed if they under-perform in a few more Tests, adding that it is a sad occurrence that Clarke was the only player from the current team to be named Wisden's cricketer of the year.

Criticising Watson's comment that he was stepping down from his post to allow Cricket Australia (CA) to set up a leadership succession plan to replace captain Michael Clarke, the report said that it was absurd to say that about Clarke, who still may be around for five more years. (ANI)

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